Jason Klatt has been there and done that over the years at Mead and when the inevitable preseason question came up from the gathered media at Broncos/CHSAA Fall Sports High School Media Day at Empower Field at Mile High, he was more than prepared.
The knowledge that high school sports are cyclical and the loss of talent is something that every coach in the state is going to deal with. The programs that have success learn how to reload and the word rebuild is usually deemed an afterthought.
“Last years team was last year’s team and they wrote their own story,” said Klatt, who guided the Mavericks to the Class 3A title game last season against Fort Morgan – a 21-17 victory for the Fort Morgan Mustangs. “And the production that came with last year’s team was again, last year’s team.
“It’s a new season, it’s a new year and it’s new guys. And what I have seen from these guys is an incredible amount of passion to be good and write their own story.”
And it is a story that is going to be intriguing from the get-go for the Mavericks, because with great success comes the expectation that your schedule is going to challenge you. And that is just what Mead athletic director Chad Eisentrager did for his team.
Mead’s first five games are all against teams that made the playoffs last season in their respective classifications. They open at Windsor (4A) this Friday and then have home games against Lutheran (3A) and Severance (2A) before making a trip to Durango (3A) and Green Mountain (3A) to close out the non-league gauntlet.
“We know every single week, we’re going to get a really good team and really good competition,” said Klatt, who hands the keys to the car to senior quarterback Taylon Adler this season. “Maybe I’m biased, but 3A is probably the best classification just because you still get the small school atmosphere, you get the stands packed, you get the community that shuts down and comes out to the game on a Friday night and you’re going to have 3,000 people in the stands.
“The atmosphere is electric in a good 3A game. I love the classification and how deep it is and we just hope that we’re one of the teams that can end up in the end.”
The Mavericks, who open the season ranked No. 1 in the CHSAA polls, have a full cupboard of talent on both sides of the ball and no shortage of weapons for Adler – who did get a little bit of time behind center last year. He and senior running back Sean Medlock will be the offensive focal points that should put up good numbers behind an always impressive Mavericks offensive line.
“These guys next to me, they played a lot and they have a lot of experience,” Adler said. “I’m looking up to them to help me out personally, and I have a lot of trust in my coaches and teammates.”
